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With no end in sight to the partial government shutdown, and the possibility that 800,000 federal workers will miss another paycheck at the end of this week, the Trump Administration reported Monday that ‘unscheduled absences’ by TSA airport screeners hit 10 percent on Sunday, with that number jumping over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, as security screeners continue to work without pay because of a battle between the President and Democrats in Congress over funding for a border wall. “TSA experienced a national rate of 10 percent of unscheduled absences compared to a 3.1 percent rate one year ago on the same weekday,” the Transportation Security Administration reported, again using the same language in a daily news release that “many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations.” The number of absent screeners had held around 6 percent much of last week, but the TSA reported the number of screeners not showing up for work as planned hit 7 percent on Friday, 8 percent on Saturday, and then 10 percent on Sunday. . @TSA says that 10 percent of its workforce had an 'unscheduled absence' Sunday, compared to just 3.1 percent on the same day last year; that means more than 3,000 TSA agents called off #GovernmentShutdown — Gabe Gutierrez (@gabegutierrez) January 21, 2019 The TSA said in a news release that ‘99.9 percent of passengers waited less than 30 minutes’ to go through airport screening on Sunday. But on Saturday, excessive sick calls by TSA airport screeners forced officials at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to use emergency plans to deal with the lack of airport screeners, closing a major security checkpoint early at the airport. That major checkpoint for Southwest Airlines flights wasn’t closed for just a few hours – but remained shut down on Sunday and Monday as well, because of a lack of security screeners. “It is important to clarify that it is not unusual for TSA and BWI Marshall to open or close one of our security checkpoints,” the airport said in a written statement. “This will have minimal, if any, impact on passengers and no impact on airport operations,” the BWI statement read. . @TSA in collaboration with airport authorities &amp; servicing airlines will be exercising a contingency plan at @BWI_Airport due to excessive callouts. Checkpoint A will be closing at 5:35pm. Passengers should arrive early for evening flights. Contact airport &amp; airlines for updates — TSA (@TSA) January 19, 2019 Earlier this month, press reports of airport screeners calling in sick because of the government shutdown – and the lack of pay for screeners – was denounced as ‘fake news’ by a top Department of Homeland Security spokesman, as well as the White House. Like other federal workers, TSA screeners have been coming to work since the partial government shutdown started on December 22; they were paid as scheduled on December 29, but missed a check on January 11, and a second check may not be paid on January 25.

A 9-year-old boy driving an all-terrain vehicle crashed over the weekend, killing a 58-year-old passenger in Osceola County, the Florida Highway Patrol said. >> Read more trending news Troopers said the boy was trying to avoid another ATV Saturday on 8 Mile Ranch Road when the vehicle he was operating hit a brim and overturned onto Laura Bizzell, of Avon Park. The boy suffered minor injuries, but Bizzell died, according to the FHP. The other ATV driver, Samuel Christmas, 53, suffered minor injuries. Authorities continue to investigate the incident.

Two people were injured Sunday night after a police car struck them as they lay in a Florida roadway, apparently to watch the lunar eclipse, according to multiple reports. >> Read more trending news The incident happened just before midnight Sunday near the Apoxee Trail, a 2.5-mile nature trail in West Palm Beach, according to WPBF and city officials. A police officer was patrolling the trail Sunday in a Ford Explorer when he struck a man and a woman, both 24, while traveling 5 mph, WPEC and WPBF reported. At the time, the area was extremely dark, according to officials. Police told WPBF that investigators believe the pair was lying in the road to photograph and watch the super blood wolf moon lunar eclipse. They were taken to a hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, according to the news station. The officer who struck the pair, who was not identified, was placed on paid administrative leave as police investigate the incident, WPEC reported. Authorities continue to investigate.

Speaking at a commemoration of what would have been her father’s 90th birthday, Rev. Dr. Bernice King criticized the Trump administration Monday for misquoting her father’s works “to suit our own purposes.” >> Read more trending news King’s remarks were aimed at Trump’s border wall push and comments by Vice President Mike Pence, who during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, said: “One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King was ‘Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.” “You think of how he changed America. He inspired us to change through the legislative process to become a more perfect union,” Pence said on the show. “That’s exactly what President Trump is calling on the Congress to do. Come to the table in the spirit of good faith. We’ll secure our border, we’ll reopen the government and we’ll move our nation forward.” >> Reflecting on MLK: 'The baddest brother of the 20th century' On Monday, during remarks at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Bernice King said: “If we really want to make real the promises of democracy, now is the time on this King holiday to stop quoting King out of context and misquoting him to suit our own purposes.” The Ebenezer audience applauded warmly. Bernice King also called for action on problems facing the country, ranging from the partial government shutdown affecting federal workers’ livelihood to the resurgence of white supremacist ideologies and voter access problems. “We are in a state emergency because of our humanitarian crises, and it’s not at our southern border,” she said. “The concern for human welfare is being threatened.” “When prejudice and bigotry are emboldened…. when schools continue to be unsafe spaces because of impotent gun control laws…. this is a humanitarian crisis and we are in a state of emergency,” King said. >> Delta contributes grant funding to re-open MLK national park During remarks at the service, U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., called for reflection on King’s words, saying: “He often reminded us that what united us is far greater than what divides us.” The service came on the holiday weekend when the Martin Luther Jr. National Historical Park reopened to visitors after a closure due to the partial federal shutdown. The reopening was funded with the help of a $83,500 grant from Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines. Reopened for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend through the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, are the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where King was co-pastor, the home where Martin Luther King Jr. was born, the park’s visitor center and historic Fire Station No. 6. “We ought to be concerned that the cradle of the civil rights movement is also the capital of income inequality in this country today,” said Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

A man was hospitalized Sunday after a police chase ended with him jumping off an overpass, according to officials. >> Read more trending news The incident started around 5 p.m. Sunday near 176th Street and Canyon Road in Spanaway when Pierce County deputies tried to stop a car that they say was being driven recklessly. Officials said the driver fled and police began a pursuit. During that time, the driver hit at least one vehicle, authorities said. The chase continued in the eastbound lanes of State Route 512 and onto the northbound lanes of State Route 167, where authorities said the suspect got caught up in traffic. Officials said the driver struck cars on an overpass. His car became so damaged it would no longer run, so he got out of the vehicle and jumped off the overpass, authorities said. Police said the driver fell at least 75 feet to the brush-covered ground below, near Valley Avenue East. Officials found him with multiple broken bones and a collapsed lung. He was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, where he underwent surgery, authorities said. The other people whose cars were hit suffered minor injuries, according to officials. Authorities said the suspect will face charges including eluding authorities and eight counts of hit-and-run. ﻿The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.

Trump alters the national map with 2016 win over Clinton

Posted: 6:45 am Thursday, November 10th, 2016

By Jamie Dupree

Donald Trump’s upset win over Hillary Clinton on Tuesday was fueled in part by a big surge in votes for the Republican in the Rust Belt, the Upper Midwest and Iowa, as Democrats were unable to motivate their supporters to turn out to vote in large enough numbers to offset Trump’s gains in more rural areas.

The Rust Belt was turning red already. Donald Trump just pushed it along.

1. Clinton unable to repeat Obama path to victory. In several key states, Donald Trump was able to flip enough counties that had voted for President Obama in 2012, and make sure that Hillary Clinton came up short in her quest for victory. In Florida, Clinton only won nine counties. She took only seven in Ohio. Eleven in Pennsylvania. Just five in Iowa. It was the same formula in each state – Clinton did fine in the urban areas, but Trump rolled up the numbers where he did well. And it was lethal for Clinton.

The story of this election is Clinton generally outperformed Obama in his counties, but @realDonaldTrump blew it out in Romney counties

2. From Blue to Red. Donald Trump changed a lot of the colors on the election maps on Tuesday night, as he overwhelmed what were often normal election strongholds for Democrats. In the state of Ohio, Hillary Clinton was only able to win seven counties as Trump ran up the score against her. In 2012, President Obama had won 16 counties while winning the Buckeye State by two percent. In 2008, Obama had won 22 counties in winning by four percent. One of the more notable switches was Montgomery County, anchored by the city of Dayton in the southwest of Ohio. For the first time since 1988, Montgomery County went Republican, as Trump dominated the state for an easy win.

3. Under votes play a role in race for White House. If you’re not familiar with the term “Under vote” – that’s the number of ballots where a voter does not pick someone for an office. In Michigan, over 110 thousand people did not make a choice for the highest office in the land, leaving that spot blank on their ballot. Donald Trump leads Michigan by only 13,225 votes – meaning those “under votes” could well have made the difference.

4. The maps tell a story. I can tell you that Trump did better in rural areas than Romney. Or that Clinton squeezed more votes out of urban areas. But to see it on a nationwide map really drives home what happened on Tuesday night, as Trump’s victories surged into the upper Midwest in Wisconsin and Michigan, and then over into Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York.

5. The Rust Belt swings hard to Trump. Here is another map that demonstrates how well Trump did – but not all because of his own people getting out to vote. Clinton simply had a difficult time matching the Obama turnout of 2008 and 2012. Whether it was Milwaukee, or Detroit or Cleveland, those key votes for Clinton – many of them from black voters – just did not materialize at the polls in 2016. And when your players don’t get to the polls, you usually don’t win.

Trump ran the Rust Belt because a lot of voters in Democratic bastions there stayed home this year. Purple is drop in total votes vs. 2008. pic.twitter.com/Bu4EQXyFOI

6. Where did Clinton do better? There were areas where Hillary Clinton was able to perform better than Barack Obama did in 2012. This map shows the location of those 184 counties. If you look closely, most of them are in liberal areas – either cities, certain suburbs and college towns. I can spot Alachua County in the state of Florida, home to the University of Florida, suburban areas right around Washington, D.C., a big chunk around Atlanta and more. But it wasn’t enough.